Edge control for machine sewing parallel edge seams

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to an edge control for sewing material on a sewing machine parallel to an edge of the material. The edge control is effected by a device which includes a stop bar disposed parallel to the path of material movement, a hold down plate carried by the stop bar and extending transversely therefrom, and at least one guide roller carried by the hold down plate and extending in angular relation to the path of material movement so that as the material engages the guide roller, the material is urged at a slight angle towards the stop bar.

United States Patent Kleinschmidt et al. Sept. 9, 1975 [54] EDGE CONTROL FOR MACHINE SEWING 3,463.482 8/1969 Baron et a1. 1. 270/93 PARALLEL EDGE SEAMS 3,782,310 1/ i974 Stockel 1 t t 1 t llZ/l53 3,8l5,530 6/1974 Denton ll2/2l4 [75] Inventors: Johann O. Kleinschmidt,

Wettersbach; Wolfgang Niem, Leonbel-g' both f Germany Primary ExaminerGeo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Diller, Brown, Ramik & [73] Assigneez UIIIOI'I Special Maschinenfahrlk Wight G.m.b.H., Stuttgart, Germany [22] Filed: Oct. 22, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 517,027 [57] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to an edge control for sewing [30] Foreign Application Priority Data material on a sewing machine parallel to an edge of OCL 25 1973 Germany N 2353399 the material. The edge control is effected by a device which includes a stop bar disposed parallel to the path 52 us. 01 0. 112/153; 112/211 of material movement, a hold down Plate Carried by 51 1111. c1. 00513 35/10 the P bar and extending transversely herefrom and [58] Field of Search 270/93; 112/121.29, 211, least one guide roller Carri by hold down 112/214 136, B8, 148, 150 [5" I52 53, plate and extending in angular relation to the path of 140 material movement so that as the material engages the guide roller, the material is urged at a slight angle [56] References Cited towards the stop bar.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2,971,483 2/196] Cordier ll2/l53 X EDGE CONTROL FOR MACHINE SEWING PARALLEL EDGE SEAMS This invention relates to an edge control for sewing machines making it possible to produce edge parallel seams by employing a stop bar and, extending from the stop bar, hold down devices preventing the fabric from bunching.

Edge controls of various types for automatic production of edge parallel seams, even on materials with scalloped edges, are known. These known edge controls can be divided into two groups.

Edge controls of one of these groups, as disclosed in the US. Pat. No. 2,971,483 to Cordier, feel or sense the edge of the fabric and align it parallel to the sewing machine, i.e. to the machine needle, by means which move the fabric in opposite directions transverse to the direction of sewing.

The other group of such edge controls imparts to the fabric only one movement transverse to the direction of sewing, i.e. in the direction toward a stop bar, as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,310 to Stockel. Hold down devices are arranged at a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the fabric and prevent bunching of the fabric.

This second group of devices for edge control is more economical since it does not require either the sensing device or the motive power as the means of control.

In order to impart the desired motion in the direction of the stop bar, it has been suggested to divide the transporting feature of the machine into two parts in the direction ofsewing, as disclosed in the US. Pat. No. 3,116,705 to Kosrow. In such differential transport, the transporting agent closer to the stop bar effects a somewhat larger motion than the transporting agent further away from the stop bar. Given such transport, the fabric receives an angular momentum around the needle which forces the fabric edge continuously against the stop bar. This type of edge control is relatively expensive and has so far been employed only for aligning a single layer of fabric.

Other suggestions utilize a moderating force to impart to the fabric an angular momentum in the direction of a stop bar, as disclosed in the US. Pat. No. 3,463,482 to Baron, et al. The moderating force is produced by pressing the fabric down against the sewing machine table. The force is created ahead of the point of penetration of the needle and on the side of the transport line away from the stop bar. However, the moderating force in conjunction with the transporting device of the sewing machine causes not only an angular momentum but also a tensile force. Depending in degree on the elasticity of the material, such tension is extremely detrimental and leads to distortion.

The tension in the fabric can be prevented by another device which imparts a lateral movement to the fabric in the direction of the stop bar by an air stream. The latter is created by air jets below the sewing machine table. This installation is very expensive, however, and requires a source of power for the compressed air as well as additional energy for aligning the fabric.

This invention is based on the task of devising an edge control for producing edge parallel seams on sewing machines. By employing a stop bar and hold down devices extending from this stop bar beyond the seam line, the edge control aligns the fabric at low cost and without additional energy and thus largely prevents distortion of the cloth or fabric.

This task has been solved basically by fixing otherwise known freely rotating guide rollers for aligning the fabric edge in such a position that the sense of rotation of the guide rollers enforced by the advancing fabric continuously imparts a component of movement in the direction of the stop bar. By employing otherwise known freely rotating guide rollers for aligning the fab ric edge, the fabric edge tends to move steadily in the direction of the stop bar. During the passage of the fabric below the guide rollers, the guide rollers can rotate freely and oppose only negligible resistance to the movement of the fabric. This largely prevents any distortion of the cloth or fabric.

A further characteristic of the invention is that the axis of rotation of the guide rollers is adjustable in its direction within a plane parallel to or at an angle with a parallel to the plane of sewing. The guide rollers preferably project through slots in the hold down plates. With this arrangement, they can be made so small that it is easily possible to provide several superposed guide units so that several layers of cloth can be sewn together. A preferred form of aligning two superposed parts consists in directing one guide roller from above through an upper plate and one guide roller from below through a lower plate against a center plate.

The possibilities of adjusting the axis of roller rotation make it possible to adapt the edge guidance easily to any number of very different types of fabrics.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

IN THE DRAWINGS FlG. l is a top view of sewing machine provided with the edge guidance control of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the sewing machine and edge control of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 2 and shows an edge control for aligning two layers of fabric.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that there is illustrated a sewing machine 1 which is equipped with a customary single direction transport (feed dogs) 2 and a customary presser foot 3. Ahead of the conventional stitch plate (not shown), there is ar ranged in a known manner a stop bar 4 and, immedi ately adjacent to the stop bar, a hold down plate 5. A freely rotating guide roller 6 projects through the hold down plate 5. The guide roller 6 is supported by a bearing block 7 mounted on the hold down plate 5. The axis of the guide roller 6 is oriented so that the direction of movement enforced on the guide roller 6 by advancing fabric tends to force the fabric to move towards the stop bar 4.

The arrangement shown in the drawing is purely schematic and does not show the possible forms of design and construction of guide roller 6. The guide roller can be kept easily within relatively small dimensions so that several such plate and roller guides can be superposed for the purpose of sewing together several layers of fabric or cloth with different edge formations.

in FIG. 3 there is shown three superposed plates 5a, 5b, 5c, linked by a stop bar 4a. The guide rollers 6a, 6b

project from above and below through the respective hold down plate 5a, 50 adjacent to each. This makes it possible to introduce two layers of fabric separately and to align them individually.

The examples of execution show cutting wheels" as the preferred form of guide rollers 6. The cutting wheels are preferably placed so that the point of contact with the fabric lies in a line which extends in the direction of advance of the fabric through the path of motion of the needle.

This form of execution and arrangement of the guide rollers largely prevents any distortion of the fabric. The moderating effect of the guide rollers is minor and an angular momentum is not created since any eventual moderating force of the guide rollers on the fabric lies in the line which runs in the direction of sewing and through the path of motion of the needle.

We claim:

1. An edge control device for sewing material in connection with a sewing machine for the production of a seam parallel to the edge of the material, said edge device comprising a stop bar and a hold down means extending transversely from said stop bar beyond an in tended seam line for preventing material being sewn from rising, said edge control device being characterized by at least one freely rotatable guide roller for aligning an edge of material being sewn with said stop bar, and means mounting said guide roller in position relative to said stop bar that the direction of travel imposed upon said guide roller by advancing material being sewn imparts continuously to the material a component of movement in a direction towards said stop bar.

2. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation. and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction within a plane parallel to the sewing plane.

3. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation, and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction within a plane parallel to the sewing plane, and at an angle to the direction of material advance.

4. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation, and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction at an angle to the direction of material advance.

5. An edge control device according to claim 2 wherein said hold down means includes a hold down plate, said hold down plate has an opening therethrough, and said guide roller projects through said opening.

6. An edge control device according to claim 1 wherein said hold down means includes a hold down plate, said hold down plate has an opening therethrough, and said guide roller projects through said openings.

7. An edge control device according to claim 2 wherein there are a plurality of guide rollers, and said hold down means includes a center plate, upper and lower plates cooperating with said center plate to define material passages therebetween, said upper and lower plates having openings therethrough, there being one of said guide rollers associated with each of said upper and lower plates, and said guide rollers projecting through said openings towards said center plate.

8. An edge control device according to claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of guide rollers, and said hold down means includes a center plate, upper and lower plates cooperating with said center plate to define material passages therebetween, said upper and lower plates having openings therethrough, there being one of said guide rollers associated with each of said upper and lower plates, and said guide rollers projecting through said openings towards said center plate.

* K II 

1. An edge control device for sewing material in connection with a sewing machine for the production of a seam parallel to the edge of the material, said edge device comprising a stop bar and a hold down means extending transversely from said stop bar beyond an intended seam line for preventing material being sewn from rising, said edge control device being characterized by at least one freely rotatable guide roller for aligning an edge of material being sewn with said stop bar, and means mounting said guide roller in position relative to said stop bar that the direction of travel imposed upon said guide roller by advancing material being sewn imparts continuously to the material a component of movement in a direction towards said stop bar.
 2. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation, and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction within a plane parallel to the sewing plane.
 3. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation, and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction within a plane parallel to the sewing plane, and at an angle to the direction of material advance.
 4. An edge control device according to claim 1, characterized in that said sewing machine has a sewing plane and said guide roller has an axis of rotation, and said mounting means mounts said guide roller for adjustment in direction at an angle to the direction of material advance.
 5. An edge control device according to claim 2 wherein said hold down means includes a hold down plate, said hold down plate has an opening therethrough, and said guide roller projects through said opening.
 6. An edge control device according to claim 1 wherein said hold down means includes a hold down plate, said hold down plate has an opening therethrough, and said guide roller projects through said openings.
 7. An edge control device according to claim 2 wherein there are a plurality of guide rollers, and said hold down means includes a center plate, upper and lower plates cooperating with said center plate to define material passages therebetween, said upper and lower plates having openings therethrough, there being one of said guide rollers associated with each of said upper and lower plates, and said guide rollers projecting through said openings towards said center plate.
 8. An edge control device according to claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of guide rollers, and said hold down means includes a center plate, upper and lower plates cooperating with said center plate to define material passages therebetween, said upper and lower plates having openings therethrough, there being one of said guide rollers associated with each of said upper and lower plates, and said guide rollers projecting through said openings towards said center plate. 